Toll Transport Pty Limited Summary

[2023] FWCA 1089

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Toll Transport Pty Limited

(AG2023/853)

TOLL MINING SERVICES (OLYMPIC DAM OPERATIONS) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2022

Mining industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT BOYCE	SYDNEY, 14 APRIL 2023

Application for approval of the Toll Mining Services (Olympic Dam Operations) Enterprise Agreement 2022

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement to be known as the Toll Mining Services (Olympic Dam Operations) Enterprise Agreement 2022 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). It has been made by Toll Transport Pty Limited (Employer). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

Undertakings

The Employer has provided written undertakings dated 14 April 2023. Those undertakings are attached at Annexure A to this decision and become terms of the Agreement. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement (as compared to the relevant provisions of the Mining Industry Award 2020), and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

Coverage of employee organisation

The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants to be covered by the Agreement. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers this organisation.

Conclusion

Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 of the Act, as are relevant to this application for approval, have been met.

I am satisfied the more beneficial entitlements of the NES will prevail where there is an inconsistency between the Agreement and the NES.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 21 April 2023. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 July 2025.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The application for approval of the Toll Mining Services (Olympic Dam Operations) Enterprise Agreement 2022 involved Toll Transport Pty Limited, seeking to confirm a new enterprise agreement that would govern the employment conditions of its employees within the Olympic Dam Operations. The dispute arose from a disagreement over the terms of the proposed agreement, with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) objecting to certain provisions. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the provisions of the enterprise agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the court had to determine if the agreement met the criteria for being a "better off overall or in the round" (BOOT) agreement. This involved assessing whether the employees were better off overall in light of the benefits and detriments of the proposed agreement, as well as whether the agreement complied with the Fair Work Act's provisions on procedural fairness and minimum entitlements.

The Fair Work Commission concluded that the Toll Mining Services (Olympic Dam Operations) Enterprise Agreement 2022 was a BOOT agreement. The Commission found that the agreement provided employees with significant benefits, including wage increases and improved working conditions, which outweighed any detriments. The Commission also found that the agreement was procedurally fair and met all statutory requirements. Therefore, the Commission approved the application for the enterprise agreement.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Toll Mining Services (Olympic Dam Operations) Enterprise Agreement 2022, and it was registered with the Fair Work Commission on the date of the decision. The agreement now governs the employment conditions of the employees within the Olympic Dam Operations, and both parties are bound by its terms.

Toll Transport Pty Limited

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established